The 1912 Evening Gown- Finished!

Choosing the trims was fun.

Two trims were applied to the neckline, as well as a narrow velvet ribbon around the bottom edge of the georgette skirt. Last of all, I hand stitched the center back lining along the zipper opening.

Looking at it on the dress form, I noted that the two layers really gave it the feel of a period dress. One night while watching Downton Abbey, I realized that I had a couple items in my Etsy shop- a choker and a black lace cardigan shrug- that would go very nicely with the dress. The choker isn’t as elaborate as some of them were, but it has a similar feel, and the lace shrug has the right shoulder lines for the period. I could hardly wait for my model to arrive!

The finished dress fit Katie perfectly. It is not floor length on her when made according to the pattern (she is @ 5’ 6”) but she really liked the length. 

We tried both it with and without the shrug. 

I think some of the most beautiful and classiest clothing is made from vintage patterns with a modern twist, and this is a great example. 

I am happy with the finished product, and have added the gown to my Etsy Shop.  I have obtained permission from Janyce Hill of VPLL to sell garments made from this pattern, and I think it will be a great way to plug her Titanic Sewing Project.  Maybe the dress will get to attend a Titanic event!

Speaking of Titanic events, there are Titanic Memorial events, balls, and dinners all over the United States, Canada, and England this year, many of them in April. I have posted links to a few of them below. If you know of more, please feel free to post the links as comments. 

http://www.titanic1.org/events/index.asp

http://www.titanictheexperience.com/titanic-dinner-event.html

http://www.novascotia.com/en/home/thingstoseeanddo/festivalsandevents/titanicevents.aspx

http://dinetitanic.com/submit/

http://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/culture/qa-with-a-culinary-adventurer-recreating-the-last-supper-on-the-titanic/?gclid=CM699faK4K4CFcRM4AodW0iRVw

http://www.1912theevent.com/#/Home-01-00/

Up next time.... a Steampunk Fascinator.

The VPLL Titanic Sewing Project

Along with about 400 others, I am a test sewer for the Vintage Patterns Lending Library’s 1912 Titanic Sewing Project- http://vpll1912project.org/.  The idea is to test the patterns transcribed from the 1912 La Mode Illustree by Janyce Hill of VPLL by making a muslin to see if the pieces fit together properly and work as a garment. My first test pattern is the Princess Slip.

Many of the sewers are making costumes for their own use, as they do reenactments or attend Titanic memorial events. I design and make costumes all the time for theatrical productions, but I am not inclined to wear them myself. I would never make a detailed garment like this slip unless someone, such as the audience, got to see it. I am also a big fan of (potentially) wearable muslins. As I studied the pattern, I realized that with a few small changes it might yield a rather nice evening gown. I dug through my stash and found a leftover piece of my favorite black silk georgette that looked large enough.  My decision was made.

My grandmother was a professional seamstress back in the days when every hem and seam finish was done by hand. She owned what then was a top of the line sewing machine. If she’d had the tools at her disposal that I have, I am certain she would have used them.  I feel no guilt in allowing my Berninas to do so much work that was once done by hand.

The biggest problem was actually assembling the pattern pieces. I have downloaded and assembled a number of other e-patterns. Assembly generally requires 5 minutes or less. Some of these pieces have little or no markings on them, and if you get them out of order(which I did!) you’re sunk. The corner markings didn’t print on my printer, either. Page numbers and/or piece ID on each page would fix this problem.

I opted to make the lining and pleated flounce in black taffeta. It was not available locally (by local I mean the JoAnn’s that is 50 miles from my house). Fabric.com informed me four days after I ordered that they didn’t have the quantity I needed.  

Thankfully, http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/ did. It is excellent quality, wider, and as a bonus was less expensive than my first order. I could not find black insertion or edging lace locally that was even remotely appropriate, either. I bought a piece of black overall lace and cut it into strips.

 I chose this lace because I thought it had a tight enough weave to be stable when used this way. 

It required careful handling, but it worked.  I cut up the lace while my Bernina did a spot of embroidery on the front of the gown. Then I sat down to sew.